College Advising Corps advisers help high school students think about college

Tuesday

Oct 30, 2012 at 12:01 AMOct 30, 2012 at 9:44 PM

The mission of Destination Education , the local chapter of the Michigan College Access Network, is to help area students achieve post secondary education, particularly among low-income and first-generation college students so they can find success.

Lisa Ermak

Continuing education past high school leads to more career opportunities, better job stability and typically higher salaries, a local nonprofit said.

The mission of Destination Education, the local chapter of the Michigan College Access Network, is to help area students achieve post secondary education, particularly among low-income and first-generation college students so they can find success.

And this week, Michigan National College Application Week, is aimed at encouraging local high school students to consider their options after high school and seek help applying to college, Destination Education director Monique Powell said.

According to the Michigan College Access Network, about 90 percent of middle school students say they plan to go to college, but only about two-thirds of students do.

That’s where College Advising Corps advisers come in.

The recent college graduates are placed in high schools across the country to address college access barriers and encourage a college-going culture at school.

Holland, West Ottawa and Zeeland East and West have them on staff.

Special focus is placed on assisting students who would be the first in their families to attend college and students who may not have otherwise considered applying to college.

Kathleen Steinbock is the college adviser at Holland High School.

As a recent graduate of the University of Michigan, she said her goal is to help students who didn’t have the strong family support she did when it comes to applying for college.

“When I was in high school we didn’t really have a college adviser ... My parents were very involved,” she said. “I can’t help but think, if I didn’t have them, there was no one who would have helped me.”

Powell said she thinks the advisers’ youth brings a level of comfort to the high school students.

“It’s a near-peer experience with somebody that can tell them, ‘Hey this is what I experienced and I just came out of college.’”

Steinbock said at times she’s surprised by how little some students know about the application process or where to start when applying to a college or technical school.

“’I’m here to help with anything. Some students came in and didn’t even know what a transcript is. It’s a little shocking. I’ve had some students say, ‘Thank you so much. I would not have finished my app(lication) without you.’”

Steinbock has set up several activities which involve student and staff participation to get the teenagers excited about their post-high school options, whether it’s college or a technical school.

The first Friday of every month, Holland High teachers are encouraged to wear a college shirt and spend the first part of every hour talking about their experience in college, which students really enjoy, she said.

On Wednesday, Thursday and Friday this week, the media center will be set up for students to come in during lunch time to fill out applications, request transcripts and ask general questions of the counseling staff.

The other high schools will be putting together similar events, like hosting college representatives or putting on a college scavenger hunt at school.

“What we want to achieve is basically more seniors and in particular those first generation college-bound students to be able to apply to college and receive assistance for that,” Powell said.